Buggyras conquered Europe in the introduction of the season
Our team entered the 23rd year of the European Truck Racing Cup in an amazing way. Not even the biggest optimist expected Buggyras would turn all their starts into victory. And not only in the point-evaluated races but also in the free and time practice. The new rider of team Markus Bösiger did a great job. He proved a “bet on Swiss horse” indeed striked home. Markus won the first three important races and although he longed for a one hundred percent success, he accepted a second position in final Sunday race with a smile: ”In the whole week only one rider overtook me – fortunately his car was the same as mine so I remained relaxed. I am happy the professionalism of Buggyra team was fully confirmed!“ Also David’s driving was perfect during the two days and he was beaming with satisfaction especially after the Sunday victory. In addition, this victory elevated him to the second overall position just behind Markus. In the new pointed classification of teams Buggyra has a significant distance before the pilots of MAN to where our former rider Gerd Körber came. Happiness for the success could be seen also on the faces of the engineers and mechanists. Already in the introductory race the engines of new ecological series 3EC that have lower fuel consumption and smokiness proved they are reliable and secure.
Everything started already on Sunday when David won both free practices before Markus. Their mutual duel with chronometer continued also in the time practice. They were improving their times in every lap and changed in leading regularly. After the expiry of the twenty-minute period Markus was in the first position and at the same time became a new holder of the track record. David also surpassed the initial record but he was 14 hundredths of a second behind his new team partner. Domestic champion Albacete was half a second behind on the third position.
Both our riders kept their initial positions immediately after the start of the qualifying race. David had an opportunity to attack Markus’s better position in the first curve but he did not want to risk their mutual conflict and so he rather watched in the mirrors the hot-blooded Spaniard supported by tribunes. The course of drive continued in an absolute tranquillity and the order of the first seven positions after start remained the same.
The main race was much more attractive for viewers, although its sovereign winner perhaps had a different opinion. He started off at the signal of green lights and in his viewing angle saw only those he was overriding. David did not manage to get behind Markus in the first curve this time and had to settle for the third position behind Albacete. The leading trio got ahead the rest of the field in several laps and also Markus began to loose after a while. David had enough of “Spanish” trace and began to prepare attack to the second position. His left back tire however did not vote for it and began to flake away like a snake from its skin. David had to slow down significantly in the last laps, which did not remain unnoticed from the side of his former team partner Gerd Körber, who longed for the steps of fame too. In a beautiful finish David defended his third position. But in the end, on the steps of winners stood the German. David was penalised by ten seconds for exceeding the allowed speed limit. The FIA commissioners do not ask that fallen-away antenna of speed sensor was to blame…
Markus won also in Sunday time practice. David’s time was the third with a loss of mere seven hundredths of a second to the second German Hahn. David’s start was not as successful as he planned and in the first curve he left a gap into which penetrated behind Markus and Hahn also Albacete. In the middle of the race David speeded up and prepared to attack and override. But in that moment the leading quartet began to pass by slower riders from the previous lap. These decelerated him so David had to settle for the fourth position.
This increased David’s motivation so much that he started off to the cup race like a shot. He endured several small collisions with Albacete and then the only truck in front of him belonged to his team partner. And when Markus in the next clockwise curve hesitated for a while, David went to lead. The rest of the race was unambiguous because blue Buggyras cut free and rode the rest of Europe out with a difference of a class.
